Don’t light up those fall fire pits just yet.
The Ohio State Fire Marshal extended a burn ban for 24 Ohio counties Thursday despite recent rainfall from the remnants of Hurricane Helene.
“The recent rain we have received has been a welcomed sight for many,” State Fire Marshal Kevin Reardon said in an Ohio Department of Commerce press release . “While it has certainly helped improve drought conditions somewhat in many areas, it has simply not done enough to add much-needed moisture back into our soil in a way that would allow us to safely and responsibly lift the restrictions that have been put in place for those areas that remain within the burn ban boundaries.”
Under the burn ban, people in any Ohio county with extreme or exceptional drought conditions are prohibited from open burning.
Extreme drought is the second-most severe dryness level, while exceptional drought is the most severe.
The affected counties include: Athens, Belmont, Carroll, Fairfield, Fayette, Franklin, Gallia, Guernsey, Harrison, Hocking, Jackson, Jefferson, Licking, Madison, Meigs, Monroe, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Pickaway, Tuscarawas, Vinton, and Washington.